Bernie Sanders is an Independent U.S. Senator from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats. He is a self-proclaimed socialist. He is a Democratic candidate for president. He is many things, but a Republican he is not.

Yet, even though most people think there are many differences between Sanders and the typical Republican member of Congress and between Sanders and the current crop of Republican presidential candidates, there are not as many differences as most people think.

It is because Sanders and Republicans support so many of the same things that I have prepared this Sanders-Republican checklist.The Making of the King...Laurence M. VanceBest Price: $15.99Buy New $2.99(as of 03:05 EDT - Details)

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on Head Start:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on farm subsidies:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on Medicare:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on Medicaid:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on Social Security:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on food stamps:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to provide the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to give students Pell Grants:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG):

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP):

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF):

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on Supplemental Security Income (SSI):

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP):

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers to provide the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (ETIC):

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to pay unemployment benefits:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to fund Section 8 rent subsidies:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to fund community health centers:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP):War, Christianity, and...Laurence M. VanceBest Price: $4.98Buy New $17.77(as of 02:25 EDT - Details)

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on Women, Infants, and Children (WIC):

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Clearly, Republicans are incorrigible welfare statists just like Democrats, and just like the “socialist” Bernie Sanders.

As if being such supporters of the welfare state that FDR and LBJ would be proud was not horrible enough, Republicans are just like Sanders when it comes to many other issues as well. Enough to continue the Sanders-Republican checklist.

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to fight the war on drugs:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers to operate the National Instant Criminal Background Check System:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to enforce federal anti-discrimination laws:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and spending it on foreign military interventions:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and giving it to NASA for space exploration:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and giving it to foreigners and their governments:The Other Side of Calv...Laurence M. VanceBest Price: $19.99Buy New $21.95(as of 12:10 EDT - Details)

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to enforce federal gambling laws:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to fund the Elementary and Secondary Education Act:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to fund the departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Energy:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Supports taking money from U.S. taxpayers and using it to fund the FTC, EEOC, FCC, SEC, NEA, NEH, EPA, FHA, ATF, and TSA:

[√] Bernie Sanders [√] The majority of Republicans

Just like welfare spending, all of this spending is unconstitutional.

These issues I have raised are serious ones that involve billions of dollars of government spending. No one is saying that because Sanders likes chocolate and the majority of Republicans like chocolate that they are two peas in a pod. The similarities between Sanders and Republicans are real and significant.

All of the Republican talk about believing in the Constitution, fiscal conservatism, free markets, and limited government is just a bunch of hot air. They no more believe in these things than Bernie Sanders does.